Gaming terminals, such as slot machines, video poker machines and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. Generally, the popularity of such machines with players is dependent on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the machine and the intrinsic entertainment value of the machine relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing machines and the expectation of winning at each machine is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are likely to be attracted to the most entertaining and exciting machines. Shrewd operators consequently strive to employ the most entertaining and exciting machines, features, and enhancements available because such machines attract frequent play and hence increase profitability to the operator. Therefore, there is a continuing need for gaming machine manufacturers to continuously develop new games and improved gaming enhancements that will attract frequent play through enhanced entertainment value to the player.
Traditionally gaming machines operate under control of a processor which has been programmed to execute base games and bonus games on the machine according to a predetermined mathematical model, which generally determines the volatility of the gaming machines. For example, the volatility of a game may refer to size of awards versus frequency of the awards. Some players enjoy playing gaming machines with a greater volatility, whereby the size of the awards for winning outcomes is relatively large, but the frequency of awarding the awards is relatively low. Other players enjoy games with a lower volatility, whereby the size of the awards for winning outcomes is relatively small, but the frequency of awarding the awards is relatively high. Players select their volatility by choosing amongst the variety of gaming machines available to be played at a casino.